Rear Liftgate Struts Blown
- Thread starter Joaco10SR5
- Start date
kenwilliams0803
New member
Which is quite different from so-called "OEM quality" or "OEM replacement" parts which are often junk from China or India. Those parts could even be Dorman or whatever the worst crap out there is. This small distinction gets a lot of people confused. Just because they put the acronym "OEM" in the description it does not always mean OE Toyota. I think that's what this guy is referring to.
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My struts are still good, but I'm wondering if anyone has ever tried going to a shorter strut to keep the hatch from hitting the garage.
Mine hits now and in a way I can't just put padding up there to fix. Leveling it helped but lifting it a couple of inches put me right back to hitting it.
Right now I'm using a bungie cord holding onto the cloth handle to keep it from going all the way up but I'm thinking if I could just find a shorter strut, that would work also.
I'm thinking a 6315 strut.
https://www.liftsupportsdepot.com/s...rolet-pontiac-hood-lift-support-strut-48039w/
Which is about 1 inch shorter but has close to the same lifting force. Same connectors too.
Model everyone seems to use for replacement:
https://www.liftsupportsdepot.com/strong-arm-6550-gas-charged-liftgate-lift-support/
Mine hits now and in a way I can't just put padding up there to fix. Leveling it helped but lifting it a couple of inches put me right back to hitting it.
Right now I'm using a bungie cord holding onto the cloth handle to keep it from going all the way up but I'm thinking if I could just find a shorter strut, that would work also.
I'm thinking a 6315 strut.
https://www.liftsupportsdepot.com/s...rolet-pontiac-hood-lift-support-strut-48039w/
Which is about 1 inch shorter but has close to the same lifting force. Same connectors too.
Model everyone seems to use for replacement:
https://www.liftsupportsdepot.com/strong-arm-6550-gas-charged-liftgate-lift-support/
Thanks for the info here. Mine just went out at 31k miles, 2 years. I have no extra weight on the hood, so will probably just go standard load struts based on the comments about difficulty closing. One thing I didn’t find reading through the posts, although it has been asked. Has anybody successfully found a replacement that limits upward travel to prevent garage door mishaps? Thanks!
EDIT: After replacing with new struts, I suspect the failure was due to having a paracord/carabiner arrangement to limit travel attached to the right tie-down. I'm wondering if the struts aren't designed to stay suspended at reduced travel or it was causing too much side load on the strut. I had been limiting travel with the cord attached to the right side and it was the right strut that failed. Thought I'd add this info so I'm not contributing to the thought that all 4runners struts fail early. Since I think I basically caused the premature failure. Also, for what it's worth, the Stabilus Sachs aftermarket replacement struts work just like OEM, at least when new, and are smooth and steady the whole length of travel.
EDIT: After replacing with new struts, I suspect the failure was due to having a paracord/carabiner arrangement to limit travel attached to the right tie-down. I'm wondering if the struts aren't designed to stay suspended at reduced travel or it was causing too much side load on the strut. I had been limiting travel with the cord attached to the right side and it was the right strut that failed. Thought I'd add this info so I'm not contributing to the thought that all 4runners struts fail early. Since I think I basically caused the premature failure. Also, for what it's worth, the Stabilus Sachs aftermarket replacement struts work just like OEM, at least when new, and are smooth and steady the whole length of travel.
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Thought I'd just check in here with a comparison of the Lift Supports Depot StrongArm struts on my wife's 2012 vs my new 2018's OEM struts.
The StrongArm struts definitely get the job done and open the hatch just fine, and closing is not difficult either. That being said, there are some differences in the way the struts behave. Stock struts are a bit smoother and open the hatch more quickly. The Strongarm struts open the hatch initially in a smooth manner, but then slow down at the top before fully opening the hatch (valving difference perhaps?). I was slightly disappointed in this, but still not enough to pony up the money for OEMs. Maybe I can post a video to show the difference.
2016 4Runner SR5
Senior Member
bgilbert5
New member
Maybe third pair is the charm
Just purchased my third set from LS depot after getting the first failed set replaced from the dealer for free. I (foolishly) assumed that they had rectified the problem with a better set of struts after the initial failures.. No such luck of course. So this time I will try LS Depot and see if I have better luck with those. I agree with whoever mentioned earlier in this old thread that this is definitely not up to Toyota standards. (not that I would go back to a JEEP or anything.. I suppose in the grand scheme of things it's just a minor annoyance.)
Brian
Just purchased my third set from LS depot after getting the first failed set replaced from the dealer for free. I (foolishly) assumed that they had rectified the problem with a better set of struts after the initial failures.. No such luck of course. So this time I will try LS Depot and see if I have better luck with those. I agree with whoever mentioned earlier in this old thread that this is definitely not up to Toyota standards. (not that I would go back to a JEEP or anything.. I suppose in the grand scheme of things it's just a minor annoyance.)
Brian
lightspeed
Member
My 2015 Limited is at 65,000km and the liftgate struts just now failed.
The strange thing (to me) is they were working fine last night when I came home and unloaded some things, then this morning I could hardly lift the gate. So in my case they went literally overnight, with no warning of impending failure.
Just my luck we have a camping trip coming up, and both my local dealerships are looking at one week to order at a cost of $400 Canadian per pair, parts only.
So I ordered a set from Amazon for much less and they should be here in a few days.
The strange thing (to me) is they were working fine last night when I came home and unloaded some things, then this morning I could hardly lift the gate. So in my case they went literally overnight, with no warning of impending failure.
Just my luck we have a camping trip coming up, and both my local dealerships are looking at one week to order at a cost of $400 Canadian per pair, parts only.
So I ordered a set from Amazon for much less and they should be here in a few days.
MidnightOffRoad
New member
Does anyone know if there's any aftermarket or non OEM struts available.
They're not tuned very well from Toyota and one of my few complaints about the 4R is that you practically have to do a pullup to get the rear gate to close. It's fine when you have nothing in your hands, but trying to close it when you have 14 grocery bags in your fingers and you're holding on to the gate with a finger or two is difficult and annoying. The only other solution is to take the bags out and set them on the ground and then close the gate.
I'm wondering if there are some struts out there that are better tuned to the lift force required for the gate.
They're not tuned very well from Toyota and one of my few complaints about the 4R is that you practically have to do a pullup to get the rear gate to close. It's fine when you have nothing in your hands, but trying to close it when you have 14 grocery bags in your fingers and you're holding on to the gate with a finger or two is difficult and annoying. The only other solution is to take the bags out and set them on the ground and then close the gate.
I'm wondering if there are some struts out there that are better tuned to the lift force required for the gate.
MTN4RNR
New member
Flip through the previous dozen pages in this thread, there are a lot of aftermarket suggestions. Start at page 1.
2011 SR5 with 27k on it last night struts gave out.
Replaced with aftermarket struts as the dealer wanted $196 Each OUCH!!
Purchased from Lift Support Depot (Strong Arm 6550 Gas Charged Lift gate Lift Support $24.50 each). I don't have a ladder and these worked perfectly. It took me 5 minutes to replace. Great customer service.
Replaced with aftermarket struts as the dealer wanted $196 Each OUCH!!
Purchased from Lift Support Depot (Strong Arm 6550 Gas Charged Lift gate Lift Support $24.50 each). I don't have a ladder and these worked perfectly. It took me 5 minutes to replace. Great customer service.
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